The Streak Continues!

Stephen Curry scored 19 points in Golden State's NBA-record 18th straight win at the start of a season, but what he didn't do against the Sacramento Kings was just as important to the defending champion warriors. Curry, the league's reigning Most Valuable Player and its leading scorer this season with an average of 32.6 points, played less than 30 minutes in the 120-101 victory Saturday night and took only seven shots all but one in the first quarter. "I'm sure Steph doesn't like it,'' Warriors interim head coach Luke Walton said. "But the coaching staff and the training staff, we're thrilled to get him that rest." Curry, who scored 17 points in the first quarter, said he understood it made sense for him to sit out the entire fourth period of the blowout with the Warriors about to embark on a two-week, seven-game road trip.


Draymond Green had his second straight triple-double and the Warriors, who led by 10 points at halftime, opened the third quarter with a 27-8 run that included four 3-pointers by Brandon Rush to build their lead to 29 points. The Kings didn't get within 21 points again until the final minute of the game. Green had 13 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists. Rush scored 16 points and Klay Thompson added 15 for the Warriors. Rudy Gay scored 20 points for Sacramento, which fell to 6-12.
"They're on a magic carpet ride right now. They're playing great,'' Gay told reporters. "They're just playing well right now. They're moving the ball and everybody's shooting the ball. Their defense is great. You hate to be on the losing side of it, but it's impressive.''


Green became the first Warriors player with back-to-back triple-doubles since Wilt Chamberlain in 1964. A night earlier, he had 14 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a 135-116 win at Phoenix. He signed a five-year, $82 million contract with the Warriors in July. "He got a huge contract this summer and he came back a better player. He's playing at an All-Star level right now,'' Walton said. Harrison Barnes missed the game with a sprained left ankle, breaking his streak of 101 straight regular-season starts. Andrew Bogut celebrated his 31st birthday and Leandro Barbosa turned 33 on Saturday.

No One Does It Better Than Patriots' Stephen Gostkowski

There was one second remaining and New England Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski was lining up for a 54-yard game-winning field goal when defensive end Rob Ninkovich looked along the sideline to and urged the confidence of his teammates. A couple of guys were on a knee, and I said, ‘There’s no need to pray with this guy.’ He’s the best kicker in the league,” Ninkovich said. Still, as much as Gostkowski has been lauded for his work in earning Pro Bowl berths in 2013 and 2014, this situation was different from any other in his 10-year career. Yes, he has had game-winning kicks, but a 54-yarder with the Patriots down by two points with one second remaining to keep an undefeated season alive? Gostkowski hasn’t been in the same situations, in part because of the Patriots' high-scoring offense. He has seven game-winning field goals in the fourth quarter or overtime, but this marked just the second that was delivered when the Patriots were trailing.
 
Still, few can argue with Gostkowski's consistency. On Sunday, he broke Vinatieri’s franchise record for field goals; the 54-yard game-winner was No. 264. Gostkowski has now made 30 consecutive field goals, dating to Nov. 30, 2014. Going back to the start of 2014, he is 56-of-58, and he's 94-of-99 since the start of 2013.“That’s the guy you want out there,” coach Bill Belichick said. “You want your best player in that situation, an opportunity to win the game for you.… Stephen made a great kick. "The Giants tried to ice him before the game-winner by calling timeout, but Gostkowski said he felt “eerily calm” along with rookie snapper Joe Cardona and holder Ryan Allen. "Me and Ryan were looking at each other smiling on the sideline,” said Gostkowski, who is now 17-of-21 from 50 yards or more in his career, the highest percentage in NFL history! (minimum 15 attempts).

As the Patriots' offense marched on its final drive to set up the kick, Gostkowski shared that he was singing a song in his head “to distract everything else.” He wouldn’t reveal the song. "I try to get in ultra-focus zone,” he said. “There are times where you’re in the zone and everything moves in slow motion, and there’s sometimes when everything goes really fast and you have to slow yourself down. "All I really think about is, 'Don’t try to kick the ball too hard,' because a lot of times when I missed kicks, it was because I tried to kill it. I just try to think of a smooth swing, being slow and under control, and making the kick. "On Sunday, Gostkowski delivered arguably the No. 1 field goal of his career. His presence at the interview podium, as he wore a Memphis Tigers shirt as a shout-out to his alma mater, was a reminder of how his 54-yard game-winner fell into a different category than most of his 263 other field goals. It’s fun to be in those situations,” he said. “They don’t come up very often, especially long kicks like that.”

Another Happy Day IN N.E As The Pats Do It Again

Brady threw for 356 yards and four touchdowns - two to Julian Edelman - and the Patriots beat the Miami Dolphins 36-7 on Thursday night to become the first of the NFL's five unbeaten teams to reach seven wins. Stephen Gostkowski broke Adam Vinatieri's franchise record for consecutive field goals by connecting from 52 and 36 yards to make it 26 in a row. Rob Gronkowski had 113 yards receiving and a touchdown, and Dion Lewis had 93 yards receiving and one score.He finished with 112 total yards, including a 17-yard catch on third-and-16 to keep the first drive going. "If you're out there playing, you're expected to make plays," Lewis said.




"It's not simple," Brady said. "A lot of guys working really hard to be on the same page." Going into the game the dolphins knew they were in for challenge, but to Brady it was just another average game. "You have to play good football in all three phases when you play the New England Patriots. They've always been that way," Campbell said. It could be an even bigger loss for the Dolphins because four-time Pro Bowl defensive end Cameron Wake was carted off the field with an Achilles tendon injury. Campbell didn't have an update on the extent of the injury.



The Patriots are 7-0 for the second time in franchise history and first time since going 16-0 in 2007!They've scored at least 28 points in every game and 30 or more in six straight. A week after setting an NFL record with 25 straight completions, Ryan Tannehill had a rough night against New England. He threw two interceptions and no TDs. "We just couldn't get going," Tannehill said.While Brady and the offense had a slow start, New England's defense made sure they led the whole way by dominating Tannehill and shutting down Lamar Miller. He ran for just 15 yards on nine carries. "They've been hot. We knew we had to come out with a lot of energy on a short week and stop them before they got started," said Logan Ryan, who had one of the Patriots' picks. The Pats now looking to lock up the next win.

The Dynamic Duo!

It was the first loss for the Thunder, who won their first three games while the Rockets dropped their first three.Harden was 12 of 26 from the field after a tough start to the season. He shot below 30 percent in each of the first three games."I'm sure all great shooters go through droughts, he said. "Mine was pretty terrible, I admit. But it will change. It will all come around. It's a long season and I'll go on five, six, 10-game streaks where I'm just on fire and it will even itself out."An 8-1 run by the Rockets made it 107-100 with about two minutes left. Harden capped that key stretch with a 3, knocking it down with Russell Westbrook right in his face.Westbrook made a 3-pointer with 44 seconds left to make it 108-105, and Harden missed a 3 on the other end. But Westbrook and Kevin Durant both missed 3-pointers on the next possession and Dwight Howard made a pair of free throws with 5.7 seconds left to secure the victory.


Durant led the Thunder with 29 points, and Westbrook added 25 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists."They'd lost three in a row and they should be desperate," Westbrook said. "We let them off the hook." Harden scored five straight points to put the Rockets on top 97-93 midway through the fourth, but consecutive baskets by Durant and Westbrook tied it back up less than a minute later.
The teams exchanged the lead several times early in the fourth quarter, once when a 3-pointer by Patrick Beverley gave Houston a 90-89 advantage with less than nine minutes remaining. He beat his chest and yelled something to Westbrook after the score.


Westbrook's layup put Oklahoma City up 93-92, and the jawing continued, earning both players a technical foul.A free throw by D. J Augustin extended Oklahoma City's lead to four late in the third quarter. But the Rockets scored the last seven points of the period to take their first lead since the first quarter. Augustin, also had to come in for Russell in the third quarter because Westbrook had then gained 4 fouls and the coach was not willing to risk it. Overall, it was a tremendous effort from both teams.